ASB Senate passes Fall Break proposal

Break could be set for Oct. 12 and 13 of this year

Pamela Hamilton
DM News Editor

The Associated Student Body senate unanimously passed a resolution supporting a two-day fall break.

The resolution passed by the senate at its Tuesday meeting asked that the university administration consider adding a fall break on a Thursday and Friday in mid-October -- after mid-terms, but not before a home football game. This year's fall break is proposed for Oct. 12 and 13.

"They represented the students," said ASB Treasurer Stephen Hammack, chair of the ASB Fall Break Task Force and co-author of the resolution.

Hammack said the resolution is mainly a proposal to include a fall break in the academic calendar. A calendar for the upcoming academic year has not been set, Hammack said.

An ASB task force was formed last October in order to examine the issue of fall break. The task force surveyed students on Nov. 11. The results of the survey, according to the resolution passed Tuesday, showed that an overwhelming 97.9 percent of students were in favor of a fall break.

The resolution will now go on to the Fall Break Joint Task Force, which include faculty and students. The joint task force will then make a recommendation to the faculty senate.

The resolution must then go through both the undergraduate council, headed by Provost Carolyn Staton, and the academic council, which consists mostly of deans. After council clearance, the resolution goes to the chancellor.

Fall break has been a recurring issue on the Ole Miss campus since then ASB president Hart Rogers 1996 campaign to put a fall break on the academic calendar.

Hammack said he believes the fall break has a shot this year.

"This is the best chance we've ever had," Hammack said.

The two-day fall break would briefly interrupt the eleven consecutive weeks of classes between Labor Day holiday and the Thanksgiving break.

The resolution asserts that "student academic performance would likely be enhanced with this much needed break."

The resolution also states that stress-related visits, which increase during October, could be aided with the presence of a break.

The fall break resolution was co-authored by Hammack and senators Gene Hauck, Anne-Morgan Brookfield, and Kyle Miller.

The senate also passed a bill which will require the senate to recite the pledge of allegiance before all official senate meetings.